Pakistan to buiy electricity from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

Xinhua Islamabad, Aug 3 (Xinhua) Pakistan will import 1,000 MW electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to provide its people with cheap power, Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said here Sunday. The electricity will be imported from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on grids running through Afghanistan, the minister said, adding that the project is an important milestone for the progress and development of both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The project is expected to be completed by 2013. It will be funded by a consortium of the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank, he added.

Inaugurating the third international conference on Central Asia/South Asia Regional Electricity Market (CASAREM), Ashraf said the government plans to generate 16,000 mw of power, at a cost of $30 billion, by 2015 to end the power shortage in the country.

Of the total cost the government would provide $10 billion, while foreign investors would invest $20 billion, the minister said.

“The government is committed to overcoming the power crisis completely,” he said, adding, the power shortfall has severely affected industrial and agriculture sectors. Xinhua